Review: Proof

Proof
The Novel
by
Ted D. Berner

ASIN: B01164T5S6
ISBN: 978-0- 9964156-0- 6 (hardcover)
ISBN: 978-0- 9964156-1- 3 (paperback)
Copyright 2015 by Ted D. Berner
Grigori Publishing
340 pages

There seems to be at least two different things going on here that are only tangentially related.
The first is a fascination with all of the far ancient anthropological sites that are causing
controversy among archaeologists, geologists and other scientists worldwide and their potential
relationship with the Old Testament, texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls and myths and legends of
many ancient civilizations around the world. This fascination is one that is shared among many
intelligent people of many lands, including me. However, only bits and pieces of that
fascination, ie; those relating directly to the early verses of Genesis Chapter 6 have any
relationship whatever to this story. Fully seventy-five percent of this book seems designed to
convey an awe of unexplained antiquities better left to The History Channel, The Discovery
Channel, and the dozens of authors who have written about them over the past forty years.

The second, when the reader finally strips it from the superfluous history, is a straight forward
conspiracy in which a college student. Ty Larson sets out to write a research proposal for an
archaeology course concerning the presence of Nephalim and the results of their intercourse with
the “…daughters of men…” mentioned in Chapter 6 of Genesis. Over the course of the class
several strange occurrences happen to Ty causing him to get his father, a CIA Agent, involved.
Although common sense should have stopped Ty from responding to those occurrences the way
he did, he was obsessed with his project and rushed in where ‘angels fear to tread’. The result is
a setup complete with Nazis, giants, seduction and terrorism on the way to find out the real story
about the Nephalim and the daughters of men.

Ty seems shallow and semi-developed. He’s a bit naive and neither Celeste nor Tom Bruiner
have any trouble leading him in whatever direction they want him to go. His CIA Agent father is
a stretch, especially since he is in a position to use agency resources to try to rescue Ty from the
conspiracy that entangles him. For me at least, that is not especially believable.

The real seduction, and the real conspiracy, however, is the fact that this book is set up as a serial
series although the next book has apparently not been written yet. The reader is left hanging with
an incomplete story unless he forks out money for the next book. As a life-long reader, I feel
serial series books are unfair to readers and typically deduct at least a full star rating from them.
And so it will be here.

This book should appeal to young adult audiences who are interested in ancient mysteries and to
those who love conspiracy stories and have the patience to dig through the layers of waste
material in order to get to the meat of the conspiracy. It should also appeal to readers who love
serial series books and are willing to wait anxiously for the next book.

3-Stars,
Clabe Polk